Identification of the maturity of acacia honey by an endogenous oligosaccharide: A preliminary study

Abstract

Mature honeys that brew naturally in the hive develop distinct bioactive components, and thus carry a higher premium due to their superior quality. However, how to identify mature honeys remains difficult. Trace oligosaccharides are a likely source of biomarkers to indicate maturity. Here, we profiled trace oligosaccharides in acacia honey by GC-MS and used a metabolomics strategy to screen oligosaccharides that distinguish honeys with different maturities. Turanose content increased gradually in acacia honey samples and was closely related to the days stored in the hive (p < 0.05). To accurately quantify turanose, a UPLC-ELSD method was developed. Using the established method, honeys with ≥1.20 g/100 g of turanose could be classified as mature acacia honey. Based on the preliminary study, 500 commercial acacia honeys were analyzed, and only 77.2 % of these samples had a satisfactory level of turanose. This work offers a potential method to evaluate the quality of honeys.

Keywords: Acacia honey; Erlose (PubChem CID193471); Gentiobiose (PubChem CID441422); Isomaltose (PubChem CID439193); Kestose (PubChem CID9914062); Kojibiose (PubChem CID164939); Laminaribiose (PubChem CID439637); Maltose (PubChem CID6255); Maltulose (PubChem CID2734156); Maturity; Melezitose (PubChem CID92817); Melibiose (PubChem CID440658); Melitriose (PubChem CID439242); Metabolomics; Nigerose (PubChem CID439512); Oligosaccharide; Palatinose (PubChem CID439559); Sucrose (PubChem CID5988); Turanose; Turanose (PubChem CID5460935); α,α-Trehalose (PubChem CID7427); α,β-Trehalose (PubChem CID10871590); β,β-Trehalose (PubChem CID10783457).